
Fact sheet
Darwin wrote "The most abundant varieties of lava (3618-3621) - olivine, large crystals of augite"
An exceptional crystalline basalt dominated by euhedral phenocrysts of olivine and pale brown pyroxene (augite). The goundmass also contains these species, together with plagioclase feldspar and iron oxides. Collected Apr-May 1836.
This collection was a collaboration between The Open University and the Sedgwick Museum, created in 2009 to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Charles Darwin.
The Sedgwick Museum opened a new gallery, 'Darwin the Geologist', and created a museum-based virtual microscope to showcase rocks he collected during the Voyage of the Beagle. We enjoy this collection because Darwin did not always pick up a representative sample from the islands he visited; it's often the unusual rocks that caught his eye. Just explore the collection and you'll see what we mean. For those who have the opportunity, a visit to the museum is strongly recommended.